Four sue state narcotics bureau
Allege agency violated the Open Meeting Act
In a lawsuit filed this week, four people are claiming the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control violated the Open Meeting Act by keeping people from attending a public meeting.
The meeting in question took place the morning of March 6 and was a public hearing for members of the public to comment on proposed changes to the bureau’s governing rules, which spokesperson Mark Woodward said would allow the bureau to better address medical marijuana license holders involved in criminal activity.
There are currently more than 11,000 licensed medical marijuana businesses — which includes dispensaries, growers, processors and more. According to the lawsuit, the meeting room could only fit a maximum of 50 people and around 70 people were unable to enter. The state agency decided to reschedule the meeting to accommodate more people, Woodward said.
“No adequate remedy at law exists for Plaintiffs to remedy the harm done by the named Defendants by their violation of the Open Meetings Act,” the lawsuit reads.
The lawsuit was filed by plaintiffs John Frasure, Krystal Deak, Nick Lor and Shoua Lor, all of whom tried to attend the hearing.
Woodward said the bureau accepts public comment in written form and holds public hearings if requested.
The meeting room was so small because only one person requested and signed up to speak at the hearing, Woodward said.
“We had a 40-seat classroom set aside to accommodate this request,” Woodward said. “But on the day of the hearing, our agency was overwhelmed with way more than 40 people who tried to push their way into the classroom.”
Plaintiffs allege that when the room became too full, others hoping to attend were kept in the lobby or outside the building. Some attendees were told that people should take turns being in the meeting room, according to the lawsuit.
Woodward said everything done was to keep people safe.
“We already had 50 people in there and there were still people out in the foyer and then overflowed out into our lobby and then out the front door into our parking lot,” Woodward said. “So, they can say they were locked out. I would say we prevented them from entering for safety reasons.”
Woodward said there seemed to be a misunderstanding that the meeting would be a town hall with agency leaders present.
But there was nothing scheduled to take place other than members of the public commenting on the proposed changes, he said.
Woodward said a future meeting will be scheduled, but because rule changes from state agencies must be submitted by April 1, Woodward said this may have to wait until next year.
In addition to alleging the bureau violated the Open Meeting Act by not allowing everyone into the room, the lawsuit also alleges the agency’s requirement of providing personally identifying information and having a photograph taken before entering the meeting was a violation.
Plaintiffs also request an injunction that would require the bureau to destroy all personal information it collected, as well as not hold any future public meetings without court approval and provide training to its employees regarding the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act and the Oklahoma Open Records Act.